WINDSOR, Ont.- The Windsor Lancers Men's Basketball team is set to make its regular season debut this weekend when it plays host to the defending national champion Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees. 

The game will be carried live on webcast on USTREAM. To watch the live feed, please click here.

The Lancers had a strong year in 2011-12, finishing fourth in the OUA West division with a 15-7 record.  After clinching a quarter-final victory over Brock at the St. Denis Centre, Windsor advanced to the West semi-finals where their season came to a halt at the hands of the McMaster Marauders.  With a number of critical returning athletes complimented by a dose of newcomers, the Lancers have been ranked the CIS No. 9 team in the country coming into the conference's first week of matches.

Lancers Head Coach Chris Oliver, who is entering his eighth season at the helm of the men's basketball program at Windsor and has amassed a .701 overall winning percentage (108-46) since joining the team in 2005, described the evolution of this year's Lancers squad.  "Our players and coaching staff have made a commitment to doing things very differently this season," said Oliver.  "For change to evolve there has to be trust and we are pleased to have grown more trusting of each other and more accepting of our roles and responsibilities to our team."

Key returnees for the Lancers include OUA West first-team all-star Lien Phillip, who was dominant on the glass in 2011-12.  The 6'8'' forward averaged a conference best 12.0 rebounds per game (rpg), and also tallied 13.3 points per game (ppg) and averaged 30.5 minutes of court time per game (mpg).  Fellow fourth-year Josh Collins (Toronto) picked up a second-team conference all-star nod last season, as the guard dropped 13.5 ppg and averaged a team-high 6.0 assists per game (apg) throughout the year.  Sophomore Junior Osuntola was named to the OUA West all-rookie team after the hometown native recorded promising statistics in his first season, tallying 9.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg for the Lancers. 

Oliver believes the strength of the Lancers will lie in its cohesion which will transcend any individual performance.  "Our depth of talent is at a level to compete nationally," he said.  "We need everybody to work at their standard and support their basketball family members unequivocally.  All ten returnees have made a commitment to be positive leaders of themselves and their teammates and to follow others in a supportive manner. Talent without shared commitment is disruptive so their key contributions will be revealed in how well they fight for our team culture."

Newcomers to the Lancers this season include forward Ismar Seferagic (Toronto), guard Reda Souala (Sarnia, Ont.), and Tecumseh native and guard Anthony Limbombe.  "(I am) happy that our newcomers have quickly contributed to our family foundation and have trusted their teammates and in return received trust back," said Oliver, who also touched on Lancers objectives for the season.

"Our goals are emotional equity amongst our players and coaches," he said.  "All championship teams possess a feeling of oneness and we will work and focus every day on achieving this goal. We are going to strive to learn from every experience we have this season to grow as a team and people."

The Lancers will be put to the test right off the bat on Friday, when they welcome the defending national champion Carleton Ravens to the St. Denis Centre.  The No. 1-ranked Ravens put together a perfect year in 2011-12, going 22-0 in the regular season and 6-0 in the playoffs to clinch back-to-back CIS banners and  their eighth national title in the past 10 years.  The Lancers will also take on Ottawa on Saturday evening.  The Gee-Gees finished third in the OUA East division last season with a 13-9 record, bowing out in the divisional semi-finals. 

"Our challenge against Carleton and Ottawa is immense," stated Oliver.  "Both teams are talented and well-coached.  We will have to play with freedom and focus to be successful."

The Lancers will take on Carleton this Friday evening, and are back on the court Saturday night against the Gee-Gees.  Both games are set to tip off at approximately 8:00 p.m.